With an options list that includes military-grade armour plating, bulletproof windows and a flat-screen TV, the made-in-Canada Conquest Knight is billed as the biggest and most secure SUV in the world. Globe and Mail columnist Peter Cheney took the Knight for a test drive to learn what's inside this fortress on wheels.

Globe and Mail columnist Peter Cheney stands on the running board of the Conquest Knight, billed as the world's largest, most secure SUV. Buyers include Russian oligarchs, an Arab Emirates oil potentate and a U.S. billionaire whose wife uses the Knight to take their children to school.(Moe Doiron/The Globe and Mail)

Knight XV body panels are formed from steel and aluminum sheets. Buyers can choose varying levels of ballistics protection, including B7-rated steel plates designed to stop armour-piercing bullets. Windows are up to 76 mm thick.(Conquest Vehicles)

Twin video screens on the Knight's dash are connected to thermal-imaging cameras known as FLIRs.(Peter Cheney/The Globe and Mail)

The Knight XV armoured SUV is parked in front of the Casino Monte-Carlo in Monaco.(Conquest Vehicles)

A welder works on the structure of a Conquest Knight at the company's Toronto-area assembly plant. Each vehicle is custom built. Conquest wants to increase production to 100 vehicles per year, and is currently seeking investors.(Norm Betts/Conquest Vehicles)

The Knight is available in two versions - the Evade and the XV. The XV is fully armoured, and weighs more than nine tons.(Peter Cheney/The Globe and Mail)

Conquest Vehicles executives Seth Feller (left) and Bill Maizlin with the company's new Evade model. Options include an oxygen survival system to protect occupants in case of a gas attack.(Peter Cheney/The Globe and Mail)

The Knight uses 40" tires equipped with run-flat inner liners. The manufacturer claims that you can drive up to 40 kilometres after the tires after the tires have been shot out.(Peter Cheney/The Globe and Mail)

The Knight attracted a series of curious onlookers during a tour of Toronto's Kensington Market area, spiritual home of the Occupy movement. Some loved the Knight, while others decried it as an environmentally ruinous symbol of capitalist oppression.(Peter Cheney/The Globe and Mail)

The Knight can be ordered with bulletproof windows and armour plating. Engine choices include 6.7-litre Ford diesel. With a curb weight of up to nine tons, plenty of power is required.(Moe Doiron/The Globe and Mail)

The Knight's steering wheel is milled from a solid block of metal. What else would you expect?(Conquest Vehicles)

The Knight can be ordered with luxury features like this cedar cigar humidor. Company CEO Bill Maizlin describes the Knight as "an armoured luxury cocoon."(Conquest Vehicles)

Buyers can order up to five horns and sirens, which are activated by a police-style control panel.(Deena Feller/Conquest Vehicles)

The Knight's granite-topped bar is equipped with crystal glasses.(Conquest Vehicles)

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